Image
Salt Marsh - Cumberland Island
ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Open the Door to Devastating Impacts at Cumberland Island

In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
Image
2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
Image
A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.

Press Releases

Image
Ocelot Mascots - Ocelot Festival 2023 - Texas - DOW.jpg
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS

Ocelot Conservation Day Returns to Brownsville

Ocelot Conservation Festival, hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Friends of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, and Defenders of Wildlife, returns
Image
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary of the Interior Shannon Estenoz are joined by other Department of the Interior staff on Monday to add a plank commemorating the designation of the Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area at the boardwalk of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Vero Beach, Florida.
Vero Beach, Fla.

New Refuge System Designation Expands Florida Wildlife Protections

Defenders of Wildlife joined today with conservation groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to celebrate the official designation of the Everglades to Gulf
Image
Spawning Coho Salmon - Lagunitas Creek - California - Martha Ture.JPG
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Environmental and Fishing Groups Raise Alarm About Ongoing Killing of Federally Protected Fish by the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

On March 6, a coalition of environmental and fishing groups reiterated their request that a federal court modify federal agencies’ proposed interim plan for operating
Image
Louisiana Black Bear
St. Petersburg, Fl.

Defenders Calls on Governor to Veto Killing of Bears Act

Defenders of Wildlife is calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to veto a proposed bill that would allow residents to shoot and kill black bears
Image
2011.06.16 - Hawksbill Sea Turtle - Caroline S. Rogers - NOAA

Defenders Calls Out “America’s Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Act” For What It Is – A Trojan Horse Against Imperiled Species

Defenders of Wildlife staunchly opposes today’s Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries’ hearing on “America’s Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Act” sponsored
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243